1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an auto telephone answering apparatus for recording an incoming message (to be referred to as an ICM hereinafter) while the called telephone is unattended.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In a conventional auto telephone answering apparatus, a recorded outgoing message (to be referred to as an OGM hereinafter) stating that the called party is out and that an ICM will be recorded is played back and sent to the calling party upon reception of a call, and an ICM is then recorded. A conventional auto telephone answering apparatus of this type has a selector switch for selecting an auto answer mode or a listen mode. When a user or subscriber is leaving the phone unattended, the selector switch is set in the auto answer mode.
For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,421,954 describes an auto telephone answering apparatus using a 1MD (One Mechanical Deck) system in which a single tape can sequentially record an OGM and a plurality of ICMs. When the auto telephone answering apparatus is being set in the auto answer mode, an OGM is first played to make certain that the OGM is properly recorded in a predetermined tape format. After the OGM is played, the tape is rewound to the beginning of the OGM and is ready for an incoming call. When the first incoming call is received, the OGM is played and sent to the calling party, and an ICM is recorded on the tape. When recording of the ICM is completed, the tape is rewound to the beginning of the OGM and is ready for the next incoming call. When the second incoming call is received, the OGM is played and sent to the calling party. Then, the tape is fast forwarded to skip the first ICM, and the second ICM is recorded after the first ICM. After the second ICM is recorded, the tape is again rewound to the beginning of the OGM and is ready for the next call. The same operation is repeated automatically to sequentially record a plurality of ICMs.
When the recorded ICMs are to be played back, the user sets the switch to select the listen mode and depresses a play button. The ICMs are played sequentially starting from the first recorded ICM.
When the ICMs are being played back, a conventional auto telephone answering apparatus normally goes into a stop mode when all ICMs have been played back or when ICM playback is manually interrupted to permit the user to attend to some other urgent business. If the user again leaves the telephone unattended while the apparatus is in the stop mode, he may forget to set the switch in the auto answer mode, thus resulting in the failure to record subsequently received ICMs.
In another conventional auto telephone answering apparatus, the auto answer mode is cancelled when a tape cassette is inserted or ejected with the apparatus in its auto answer mode.
When a plurality of tapes with different OGMs are prepared and used for different purposes, the user must set the switch to establish the auto answer mode each time he replaces one tape with another, thus inconveniencing the user.
Furthermore, since only the beginning of an OGM need be checked to determine the OGM content, the user often interrupts OGM playback before completion thereof. To do this, the user depresses the stop button or sets the selector switch in the auto answer mode. If the stop button is depressed for that purpose, the selector switch must be thereafter set in the auto answer mode to ensure that incoming messages will be recorded. However, the user often forgets to do this, resulting in the failure to record ICMs.